tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90423934216080007802024-03-18T20:34:00.023-07:00Aboard the Cosmic Marinered and karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01770141985191042014noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9042393421608000780.post-52977184744067773672016-04-05T17:35:00.001-07:002016-04-05T17:35:24.901-07:00Off to Fort Myers......except.......we woke up to fog again. <br />
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But, we're in no hurry, really. It's only about 15 miles to Fort Myers from the Franklin Lock, so we kicked back and waited. Had a nice breakfast and watched other boats drive off into the fog. They were all heading east into the country. We were heading to the city. Downtown. We waited.<br />
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Shortly after ten we departed and locked through. It still amazes me that they run these big locks to let one little boat through, but they do. It was an easy trip into Fort Myers. Uneventful except for a long, narrow channel through a no wake manatee zone where we seemed to be the only boat not making a wake. The motor yachts with twin turbo mega motors did their best to push us out of the channel, but not today. I'm not sure where all the "Rigid Enforcement" of the manatee zone was but, survive it we did, and without running aground either! <br />
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We got into Fort Myers just before noon, and stopped for fuel at the Fort Myers Yacht basin. I only add this in because I know all my sailing friends will be jealous! Didn't need much fuel, but I realized I forgot to treat the fuel we bought in Stuart. It couldn't have been because we just touched bottom and I could see the happy hour sign from the fuel dock, but who knows. Maybe I'm just not a good boater. <br />
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The Fort Myers yacht basin was just upriver from our destination, and when I called them on the radio they asked us to wait as we were fourth in line for docking. Only noon and it was quitting time already. Now that's boating. But they got us into our slip just before one - a real nice one in the suburbs (a far corner of the marina) right on the seawall overlooking the river where we have a great view of the river and sunsets. We'll deal with it, I guess. <br />
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Anyway, we're a gonna be hanging out in Fort Myers for awhile. Not sure when or where we're gonna go from here, but y'all will be the first to know, I promise. And I'll be sure to post some really nauseating sunset pictures for we all wait too!ed and karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01770141985191042014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9042393421608000780.post-88605880687871748462016-04-04T18:48:00.000-07:002016-04-04T18:48:37.362-07:00Westbound......Up before the sun....grrrrr.......<br />
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Decided to leave Clewiston at first light....with any luck, today's journey would include the Moore Haven lock, the Moore Haven RR bridge (hopefully not, as it's usually open), the Ortona Lock, the SR 29 bridge, the Fort Denaud swing bridge, the Alva Bridge, the Franklin Lock and the Wilson Pigott bridge. If, that is, luck was with us. The Ortona Lock is currently under construction/revitalization and the posted hours of operation (usually 0700 to 1700) were currently 0700-0730, 1130-1230, and 1630 -1730. <br />
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The plan was to leave at first light, hopefully make the 3.5 hour trip (3.5 hours boating, not including waiting for locks and bridges) to be at the Ortona lock before the 1330 closing. If we missed that opening, the 1630 opening would make it too late for us to make it to Fort Myers today. Let's see what happened, shall we?<br />
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So we were up in darkness to be ready to leave at first light. First problem of the day? First light revealed fog. Not the good kind. So we sat and waited. Without fog we could have left a little after 7. Now, we waited. <br />
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Another Grand Banks had pulled in last evening - the NinaMia. A 50 footer. Real nice one too. We had talked to them a bit last evening, we were both heading the same way, and so we agreed to travel together. Just one problem this morning - they wanted to leave at 0730, fog and all. Ed and Karen don't boat in fog, so they left without us.<br />
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By 0800 the weather looked better so we cut the dock lines and moved. We were going to be in the ditch and really couldn't get lost, I just hoped to not hit anything I couldn't see. Important safety tip. Visibility was pretty good, actually, just some patches of fog. So, I hit the gas (diesel) and ran faster than normal to try and catch up to NinaMia. The problem with them being so far ahead of us was that they would get to the lock and lock through, leaving us to wait for a lock to fill and unfill. That would definitely slow us down. We ran into a few fog patches and I made sure the radar worked. Didn't hit anything, so it must have.<br />
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I heard NinaMia call the Moore Haven Lock and ask to lock through. No way were we gonna make it. But, as luck would have it, NinaMia had to wait. And the lock opened just as we arrived. Good day for us. Busy day at the lock though; four boats exited, four boats went in. NinaMia was faster than us, and broke traffic for us all day. Bridges and locks they had to wait for we went right through. Nice. <br />
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We got to the Ortona lock and miracle of miracles! No construction today. They locked us right through at 1100. Way ahead of schedule. Should be no problemo to get to Fort Myers today.<br />
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Unless.....<br />
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As we were approaching the Franklin Lock we noticed thunderheads building in the west. Not for this guy, says I. The Locks are run by the Army Corp of Engineers. Many have campgrounds run by the Corp at the locks. The Franklin lock actually runs a Boat Campground. Eight slips with water and power for 30 bucks! In we went and done for the day at 1430. Not a bad day, and should be an easy jaunt into Fort Myers tomorrow. We'll see. Tomorrow.<br />
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Time to see if the radar really works. <br />
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The ditch is easy. If you can see the trees growing in it......<br />
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Busy day at the Moore Haven Lock.......<br />
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Ooops.....ran aground. According to the GPS. At 9 kts. In 19.7 feet of water. Very reassuring.....<br />
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James Bond was out fishing.......<br />
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Boat Campground, Franklin Lock.<br />
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Bet this guy doesn't get up every morning and check to see if he's sinking. <br />
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<br />ed and karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01770141985191042014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9042393421608000780.post-55346205596184712722016-04-03T17:27:00.000-07:002016-04-03T17:27:27.768-07:00Bass fishin'.....Lake Okeechobee is apparently famous for bass fishing, as we found ourselves immersed in some real (reel?) down home Americana......a bass fishing tournament. I've never seen so much money invested in fishing boats and fishing poles! (Well, except for Hawaii. And Ory Gone. And every other deep sea fishing place I've been, but, I digress.)<br />
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To many to count bass fishing boats on the lake, and when we got into the marina there was a judging booth set up with 105 boats entered in the fishing tournament. Judging started at 3, and at 250 a solid lineup of boats started coming in. A sight to behold. I don't think you've really seen 'Merica until you've been to a bass fishing tournament. But that's just me.<br />
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Spent the day prepping to leave tomorrow. Not sure how far we're gonna get due to construction and closures at the Ortuna Lock, so, if you wanna know how far we go tomorrow you better check back then!<br />
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Cosmic Mariner safely at the docks....Protected by pelicans.....<br />
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Never seen so many bass boats in all my born days!<br />
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Kids, remember: always chew your food!<br />
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Fishing tournament judging booth. All we need is fish.<br />
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Judging starts in five minutes, and here they come!<br />
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Reel (real) serious business here.<br />
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Champeens of the world! Or at least of Lake Okeechobee today.<br />
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I thought it was a big crowd, but it was my first fishing tournament.<br />
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Fish back in the boat and back to the lake. This is a catch and release tournament. Note the fire rescue boat on standby. <br />
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Because it was catch and release, we had to have some boring smoked salmon sushi.<br />
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Then this big bully of a boat came up and splashed lake water on our boat. I wonder if Charles Atlas sells exercise equipment for boats?<br />
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<br />ed and karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01770141985191042014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9042393421608000780.post-88198545655891534362016-04-02T18:07:00.000-07:002016-04-02T18:07:50.884-07:00Lake Okeechobee......up at the crack of dawn with the gators....the real ones, not the football ones......<br />
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Left Indiantown marina with the sun (gee I hate that!) but we wanted to get across Lake Okeechobee early. Weather called for thunderstorms after noon......1200.....at three hours across the lake that forced an early departure if we wanted to cross today.....Indiantown Marina was cheap and a safe place to spend the night but for long term comfort it wasn't in the cards. <br />
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Back in the ditch and off to the lake. To enter the lake you have to pass through the Port Mayaca Lock. Just before the lock as you head west there is a railroad bridge. It is stored in the up position and to cross (if you're a train) the train has to come to a stop and the train crew has to manually lower the bridge. After looking both ways, of course. Through with no problemo, we called the Mayaca Lock. I knew the water levels were up in the lake, but I didn't expect the lock to be left open. It was. Just go on through, said the lockmaster. We did, and entered lake Okeechobee at 0915.<br />
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Lake Okeechobee is the second largest lake in the United States by size. Only one of the great lakes is totally within the boundaries of the USA. The others are shared with Canada. Even though it's a large body of water, they forgot to put much water in the water. Our journey was twenty five miles across. The first half was wide and open without much dangerous stuff. There was only one aid to navigation at about the 7 mile mark. It was relatively easy to find as I entered waypoints on the gps. Didn't make much difference here, but waypoints would be important from about mile fifteen to twenty five.<br />
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After the half way point, the lake bottom somehow turns rocky. They say it's okay to run into a mud bottom, but not a rock one. Go figure. Anyway, it just so happens that where the bottom turns to rock that the channel narrows and makes hard turns. Miss them at your peril. Hence the way points. Channel markers are nice, but they aren't close enough together for me, especially when it turns windy. You can easily be blown out of the channel if you aren't paying attention. As luck would have it the wind picked up and thunder heads were billowing. Looked like we were just going to make it. <br />
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We missed the rocks and made it through the swamp grass, arriving at Clewiston just before noon. That was enough for one day anyway, but we had a slip arranged for the weekend. As luck would have it, they have a tiki bar and some cold ones. They also have a bass fishing tournament going on. More on that later.<br />
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Back in the ditch......<br />
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The ditch on the chartplotter...... There were times it showed us driving on the land. Very reassuring.<br />
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Or, if you prefer knots......<br />
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Railroad bridge before Mayaca lock. You'll be wanting to know about this if you plan on sailing through......<br />
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Port Mayaca Lock.....wide open. A good sign. Blue sky is a good sign too.....<br />
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I'm not sure if pelican poo is a good sign, but there was plenty of it!<br />
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Looking good so far.<br />
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The trick is to not hit the rocks and make your turns when you need to turn. Glad I learned how to set waypoints in Hawaii. Where the water was 3000 feet deep and you didn't need them anyway!<br />
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Channel getting narrow.....looks like it's gonna be important to stay in the channel here.</div>
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Here's a slightly larger scale.....</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgufd_WFiWdpX4LQxxG_W28PuVNjLNFngqgO6XajqgKKene20GrCkZP2Cd5NVNs7D60l_jq0CN355cK4tv5se_o7zdO151kjzuVqZLRe_jm-xe42mhRmRpLrIAvTJR0dIC8PkhCba3SA5PD/s1600/IMG_8338.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgufd_WFiWdpX4LQxxG_W28PuVNjLNFngqgO6XajqgKKene20GrCkZP2Cd5NVNs7D60l_jq0CN355cK4tv5se_o7zdO151kjzuVqZLRe_jm-xe42mhRmRpLrIAvTJR0dIC8PkhCba3SA5PD/s640/IMG_8338.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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The Clewiston Lock....always open unless it's flooding.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSYvAdIkkXVI-9KIhLcQxDB2fVRwcuS3mDinb7PMJf9m3HLDWRTFxSsPCD6aBH_m1cGsKClxcdAYT-iWwd592W4eSZ5QhbQj83eJbc6NJt-XhVLL4nTmEP0UIIagYGlamG_N-OZ3DpZvui/s1600/IMG_8339.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSYvAdIkkXVI-9KIhLcQxDB2fVRwcuS3mDinb7PMJf9m3HLDWRTFxSsPCD6aBH_m1cGsKClxcdAYT-iWwd592W4eSZ5QhbQj83eJbc6NJt-XhVLL4nTmEP0UIIagYGlamG_N-OZ3DpZvui/s320/IMG_8339.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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'Merica.</div>
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<br />ed and karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01770141985191042014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9042393421608000780.post-86195525549165683862016-04-01T17:34:00.000-07:002016-04-01T17:34:21.643-07:00And then..........Hi y'all! What's new? Sorry, I left you hanging, but there wasn't much to report. We had been hanging out in Stuart, Florida, at a place called the crossroads. That's the intersection of the Intracoastal waterway ( north and south), the St. Lucie River west (to the Okeechobee waterway,) and the St Lucie inlet (or outlet, depending on which way you are going I guess) which you can use to hit the great Atlantic Ocean and can head for the Bahamas, or go north or south on the outside (non ICW). <br />
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We sat and evaluated our options. As we were originally headed for the Keys, that was the first choice. However, after several days in the narrow ICW it seemed we were the only boat heading south and the steady stream of boats heading north made for a not fun passage. As Brent and Susan say, if you're not having fun, don't do it. We thought about going outside and south, but we needed a weather window to be in the ocean. Not to mention the Gulf Stream. More on that later. Also, as we had left to go south pretty late, with our delay in the yard and needing a weather window, that would not have left us much time in the Keys, and to go that far for a short time made us wonder if it was worth it.<br />
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Second choice would have been to head for the Bahamas. That sounds like the really cool (and obvious) choice, but we really needed a weather window for that. We waited and watched, but it didn't look like a window was coming anytime soon. After reading up on riding the gulf stream we were sure we didn't want to go on that ride wrong! The gulf stream is an ocean current that runs to the north. Not bad if you're heading north, but the winds mostly blow south, which can make for a nasty ride. So, you're supposed to wait for the winds to blow north with the gulf stream current, and that wasn't supposed to happen any time soon. <br />
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Third choice was to cross Okeechobee and head back to Fort Myers and the Gulf ICW. Though that is the way we came from last year, it is an easy jump to the Keys and back if we chose to, depending on weather windows.<br />
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Fourth choice was to turn around, follow the boats heading north and go back to Jacksonville and then head north on the ICW from there in June. As we had just come from that way, we quickly eliminated that idea.<br />
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Soooooo.......West it is!<br />
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We left Stuart and headed up the St. Lucie River through the St Lucie lock and towards Okeechobee. This is a mostly straight and relatively (for Florida) deep passage, and an easy (if there is such a thing) boat trip. A stop at Indiantown gives us an easy jumping off spot to cross Lake Okeechobee early in the day, as it can be a very rough ride in the afternoon winds and thunderstorms. Weather looks good. Will we make it? We'll let you know! <br />
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ps: if we don't let you know we probably didn't make it. But, even if we sink to the bottom the top of the boat will be out of the water so we won't get our feet wet whilst waiting for rescue so we probably will make it.<br />
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Okeechobee dead ahead! (in forty miles or so......)<br />
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Stuart back that a way......'bout ten miles or so.......<br />
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'Merica........<br />
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<br />ed and karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01770141985191042014noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9042393421608000780.post-51519752455188179642016-03-27T15:28:00.001-07:002016-03-27T15:28:56.773-07:00Hanging on.....I've left you all hanging. I oppoligise. I'll catch you up soon. Maybe. Or not. Just a teaser: haven't sank..... Yet. ed and karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01770141985191042014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9042393421608000780.post-88932444454904716712016-03-18T16:31:00.001-07:002016-07-24T15:21:56.800-07:00Two fer......Apparently forgot to post yesterday. Well, it was St Patricks Day. I'm sure a lot of people forgot a lot of things....<br />
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Fog finally burned off and we departed Vero Beach......uneventful day and wound up stopping in Fort Pierce, Florida. Very nice marina. All new and rebuilt after hurricaine Francis in 2004. Yes, 2004. It's a city marina. They're not in much of a hurry, i guess.<br />
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They did have a nice tiki bar and we had a late lunch and a few adult beverages......not knowing what time it was made the bill larger than the usual happy hour/early bird bill. Live and learn. Maybe I should buy a watch? We did manage to get through the night without being murdered or robbed. That is apparently a rare event in Fort Pierce. Feelin' good about that.....<br />
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No morning fog meant an early departure. Very nice day. Didn't hit any icebergs, but it wasn't because Florida/the army corp of engineers made it easy. The channel between Fort Pierce and Stuart is iffy at best. Very narrow. And, as we're going the wrong way....all other boats are heading north whilst we're heading south......we seem to be the odd boat out.........but.... nobody died....or wrecked their boats.....<br />
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Got to Stuart and what is called the Crossroads......the intersection of the ICW (north and south), the St Lucie River and the St Lucie inlet (Ocean inlet). We reached it just before high tide, so there was lots of water. But the water was moving 4 kts with the tide. We decided to duck into a marina as the boat traffic was crazy busy with tour boats, paddle wheelers and fishing boats. Just like aloha Friday, but with (hopefully) less alcohol involved. To get to the marina we had to go through Hells Gate. (Really. Look it up.) With the tide. And current. And crazy boaters. But, we only touched bottom once. Fortunately we were able to power through it. Probably wouldn't have been an issue to run aground as we passed two (TWO?) tow boat U.S. boats in the next mile. In bad areas both tow boat US and Sea Tow just sit in their boats and wait. Very reassuring if you're in trouble. Also, you're almost assured to get in trouble, that's why they are sitting there and waiting. Good? Bad? Well, you decide.<br />
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Anyway, tied to the dock with a most excellent pool, bar and grill. Food was most tasty and better yet cheap. A good place to hang and relax. But, we're at the crossroads. We can go west, to Okeechobee, South to Miami the keys, east to the Bahamas or North, back where we came from. Nobody with brains boat the ICW on a weekend, so we're going to sit by the pool and evaluate our options this week. <br />
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We'll get back to you soon.....<br />
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Photos....<br />
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Dinner at Melbourne Charthouse. A nice view of the channel entering the harbor. We only saw one boat run aground. Pretty good day I suppose.....<br />
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But the sunset was most excellent.......<br />
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Dolphins on the way to Vero.....<br />
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Vero pool.....<br />
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Docked in Vero in the Cheap seats with the dinghies from the big boats....<br />
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Morning fog in Vero.....worst fog I've seen in Florida.....<br />
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Gave way to afternoon sun and Tiki Bar in Fort Pierce......<br />
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Where we opted out of green beer, but did go with the fish tacos and a Cuban....<br />
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Sunset wasn't bad......<br />
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And pool drinks at the yacht club can't be beat!<br />
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<br />ed and karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01770141985191042014noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9042393421608000780.post-39344040567542534332016-03-16T16:44:00.000-07:002016-03-16T16:44:57.389-07:00vero beach....Soooo.....yesterday we had planned on getting to Vero Beach, but decided to stop in Melboune because they had a Charthouse. <br />
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Today, it didn't make much sense to stop at Vero because it was a short day. But it looked like they had a nice pool so we stopped. And laid by the pool all afternoon.<br />
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The end.<br />
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<br />ed and karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01770141985191042014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9042393421608000780.post-18718076091867486792016-03-15T11:54:00.000-07:002016-03-15T11:54:34.997-07:00Always stick with the plan......Unless the plan turns out to suck.<br />
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When we left Jacksonville, we had a plan. South to the Keys. Ten days. Two weeks tops. Clearly that didn't work out, so we switched to south bound, no plans. We had planned to leave Cocoa Beach and get to Vero Beach today. That was the plan, anyway. Even though we have no plans. But, I digress......<br />
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The Admiral said we were setting our alarm and getting up at the buttcrack of dawn (what does that mean anyway?). The plan was to beat the gusty winds that crank up every afternoon. Good plan. Sadly, the buttcrack of dawn today is not the same time as it was last week. So when we got up this morning it was pitch black. Not to be deterred, we still got the boat readier to go. We had gotten it ready to go yesterday. And then, a sensible breakfast.<br />
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As luck would have it when daylight finally broke, we discovered........ anybody know what happens when the air temperature is 72 and the dewpoint is 71? Anybody? Bueller? The correct answer is FOG. I can only recall seeing FOG one other time in Florida. Wasn't even on my radar. Good thing we have radar, but Imma not about to boat in it. It wasn't a horrible Depoe Bay fog where you can't see your hands in front of your face for three months at a time, but still, we waited. <br />
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Finally departed the marina and hung a right. South bound. Mostly flat water but some gusts came out of nowhere. Generally a pleasant boating day, despite there being no water in the water. 10 feet on the depth gauge was time to relax time. Sadly, it only lasted a minute or two. But the dolphins came out to play, so that was cool. <br />
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For you non boaters, channels are marked with red and green channel markers. It's a pretty simple system. Basically, red right returning is the rule. If you're returning from the ocean. If you're on a river, you're almost always red right returning from the ocean. If said river (on the ICW)runs into the ocean. If it doesn't, it's red right returning....to Texas. Now, if your red right return from the ocean to a river on the ICW and want to go away from Texas, it's red right returning from the ocean until you hit the ICW where if you turn North it's now green right going north until you enter the channel to your destination where it switches to red right returning. Pretty simple, really. But basically, in a nut shell, we are red right returning heading south on the ICW. The goal, generally, is to keep the red markers on your right. But, you can't just watch the red marker in front of you, because winds and currents may move you one way or another, and you may find that the red maker in front of you is on your right but the red marker behind you is on your left. Ergo, you're out of the channel. Today, parts of the channel were so narrow that even though the red marker ahead was on the right, not only was the red marker behind us on the left, but the green marker behind us was on the right at the same time. Fortunately, the river was wide and deep at the time. Well, deep by Florida standards. Anyway, nobody hit an iceberg (or a beach) and that was good with me. <br />
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Plans? What plans? As we entered Melbourne, the Admiral says "wasn't there a Charthouse (restaurant) in Melbourne?" I believe there was. As luck would have it an Mr. Google would point out, there was indeed. A quick radio call to the Melbourne Marina and by noon, Cosmic Mariner was at the dock with the a/c running. After cleaning, prepping for tomorrows departure, mapping a new plan for tomorrow and, a cold adult beverage, we''re just hanging in the marina and waiting for the Charthouse to open at four. Happy Hour, as it turns out. Weird. <br />
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So, tomorrow? Something else I suppose. <br />
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Photo log.....<br />
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Red, right, returning. Is that a sandbar? Find out in a minute. Nope, just sunlight on the water.<br />
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Eagle? Or Osprey? I'm not very good at this nature stuff......<br />
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Dolphin videos. Always cool no matter what!<br />
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<br />ed and karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01770141985191042014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9042393421608000780.post-41227027568894265482016-03-14T14:40:00.002-07:002016-03-14T14:40:43.654-07:00Welcome back......So, we've been doing the space coast all week whist safely tied to the dock, using all the power and air conditioning we could stand. The heat (and humidity) seem to have returned to Florida. It was not a good week to be in a marina without a pool. Did some boat projects/maintenance in the am's (when it was cooler) and touristy stuff in the afternoons. Pretty nice old town Cocoa across the street from the marina where eating on the water seemed to be the theme. <br />
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There seems to be a weather window coming up tomorrow for a few days and we intend to keep heading south. Tune in tomorrow to see where we are (or if we even moved.)<br />
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Photo memories from Space Coast......<br />
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Never did find where Jeannie and Tony lived, but we did find the Adams family house!<br />
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Old Town Cocoa.....waterfront dining, wings and cheap beer I can cross off my bucket list. Again.<br />
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Kennedy Space Center - it's all about Space X now. Space X will be taking men into space from Kennedy beginning in 2017.<br />
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And the future of Space flight.....coming soon. If not postponed. Again. <br />
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Control room for Apollo 11. As it was, July 16, 1969. (And, unbeknownst to most of you, I'm sure, Apollo 11 also carried the Arc Net Space Shield placed on the escape capsule by the Men in Black. It prevented the invasion of earth by the Boglodites in 1969. True story. Saw it on Amazon Prime.<br />
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Waiting in line for the Space Shuttle Launch Experience......<br />
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Which, was better than Space Mountain for sure. Also, we're pretty much fully trained and experienced astronauts now. So we've got that going for us. Which is nice. <br />
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NASA is hiring Farmers, if you know anyone who is interested. I don't, apparently.<br />
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Typical garage sale stuff on the space coast. <br />
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Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum, Titusville, Fl. Pretty cool. <span class="_eph" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 20px; position: relative;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.84px;"> </span></span><br />
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"Merica.......<br />
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<br />ed and karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01770141985191042014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9042393421608000780.post-34230416003530217422016-03-09T05:35:00.002-08:002016-03-09T05:35:37.587-08:00easy day......almostThe weather looked good this morning.....the winds were out of the south about ten kts and the water was nearly flat.....looks like a good day to go!<br />
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We zigged and zagged through the channel aiming for cocoa beach, which was our destination when we were unavoidably detained in Titusville. The wind did kick up a bit and we ran into some chop, but not near as bad as it was in the Mosquito Lagoon. It was a short trip, only 17.5 nm, and we were safe at the dock before noon. <br />
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Since it was early, we elected to bus back to Titusvi'lle and pick up our car. We hadn't planned on having a car with us, so we are now figuring out how we are going to leap frog our car with us as we travel. Especially after 3 busses and 3 hours later. <br />
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So, we're in the Cocoa area for at least a week. We had planned on staying here longer to see some of the space stuff, but we did some of that whilst stranded in Titusville. Though we did have a pretty good plan of what we wanted to do and see, we are currently traveling with no plans. We 'll see how that works out.<br />
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Matching book ends in Titusville......<br />
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The birds followed us........<br />
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Probably because they knew we were fish magnets......I'd like to say I caught this poor little fella, but I only discovered his body after we docked. I could have used him for bait, but I don't have any hooks that small and I'm not even sure a sardine would have wasted his time eating it......<br />
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"Merica.......<br />
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"Merica at night......<br />
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<br />ed and karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01770141985191042014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9042393421608000780.post-56167214455148430042016-03-07T16:05:00.001-08:002016-07-24T15:12:26.714-07:00Weather.......After cleaning the boat and kicking back some cold ones for a few days, decided it was time to keep heading south. Until..... we got some really nasty, windy weather! Decided to stay put and wait for a weather window. Thought that was just an ocean thing until I saw the waves kicking up on the river here. What's a few more days in Titusville?<br />
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Finally?<br />
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As luck would have it, Karen got up at the crack of dawn. I still don't get that. But she likes to watch the dolphins come in to play and feed.....I'll you tube it later.....anyway.....<br />
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when I did drag myself out of bed (0730) Karen tells me the weather is really nice. No wind. What? But the weather forecast? I never have liked weather forecasts.....Karen likes NOAA....and Passageweather....and Windyty......I like to look outside at the weather.....but I was convinced, due to the seemingly latest accuracy of the forecasts.....that it was going to be windy all week. So, even though the weather was perfect to travel, the boat wasn't ready to go. Because ed's been lazy. Because the weather was gonna be bad. <br />
<br />
So, we made plans to watch the weather and told the marina we'd let them know what we were gonna do, as we were supposed to head south today. We played it safe and stayed another day. Drove down to Cocoa, our next destination, to scope out the marina since we have our car now and will have to come up with a plan for that. The wind, what there was of it, had switched to the south, which would make docking in Cocoa a snap. We saw a few sights, and came back to the marina to prep the boat for a voyage. Shoulda done it last week. I know. <br />
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So, we prepped the boat and paid for another day at the marina, telling them if the weather was the same tomorrow, we would be gone in the morning. It's only twenty some miles to Cocoa, so, icebergs aside, it should be an easy trip. Icebergs aside, like I said. <br />
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We'll find out tomorrow. Or not. <br />
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ps: Everything is Space here,.....<br />
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Brevard Co Sheriff.....notice the space shuttle on the front of the stripe.....<br />
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Titusville sailing club....note the boat names.....<br />
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More space stuff later, as time (and icebergs) allow.....ed and karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01770141985191042014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9042393421608000780.post-16230849606735950872016-02-29T10:56:00.002-08:002016-07-24T15:08:00.395-07:00And..........Turned out our bottom painter didn't get us painted until Saturday. No problem. We just couldn't launch the boat on the weekend! No lift operator! Oh well, having fun here sightseeing. Got to see some local space things.<br />
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and, Monday:<br />
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SPLASH!! <br />
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Boat is filthy. Moved it back to the Marina and will spend a few days cleaning and unwinding from the boatyard blues. And a shower (longer than two minutes and with warm water) would be nice. <br />
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May have found an RV that will work for us:<br />
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More adventures posted here as they become available. <br />
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Stay tuned......ed and karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01770141985191042014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9042393421608000780.post-62529350387525485462016-02-24T16:09:00.000-08:002016-07-24T15:04:41.111-07:00picture in your mind......the alien from Men In Black........<br />
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o<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFJzHs6auYCIlntzOeDs6N4orDlDumye8QsZRrtJABcxVqztY7aEcXJvJZWf7FHH0K50DKan9WNQdFaLYkySsKGCXaZySDQcCfwlxOkAQHF9u_5I5w3K5n1jVNmLJ7Kg7bSSUd3JqgQ6T5/s1600/mib.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFJzHs6auYCIlntzOeDs6N4orDlDumye8QsZRrtJABcxVqztY7aEcXJvJZWf7FHH0K50DKan9WNQdFaLYkySsKGCXaZySDQcCfwlxOkAQHF9u_5I5w3K5n1jVNmLJ7Kg7bSSUd3JqgQ6T5/s320/mib.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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okay, hold that thought, more on him later.....</div>
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Found our bottom paint in Daytona and now we're waiting for a painter.....</div>
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what's it like living in a boatyard? Imagine your beautiful 3 bedroom 2 bath home. And your beautiful, lush green yard. Now, picture it on blocks 15 feet in the air. Your yard has turned to sand and the wind is blowing forty miles per hour. But, you can still use it, you just have to climb a 12 foot stepladder to get inside. And, you can still use your refrigerator, just one third of it. Which is all there is on a boat to begin with. And, you can use a fan. (but if you use them together you have to climb down the ladder two or three times a day to switch the breaker back on when you blow the power. You can't use your hot water heater. But no reason to because you can't run water or use the shower. They are just a short walk away. Down your ladder and across the sand dunes.......It's kind of like that. </div>
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Anyway, there was a great movie once -it's probably still there. Harry In Your Pocket. James Coburn. Anyway, Harry was a pickpocket. Harry had one rule - "Harry doesn't hold." Meaning, once he picked your pocket, he immediately passed your wallet off to someone else. The cops grabbed him several times, but he didn't have the goods. He passed them off. Because, Harry doesn't hold. Anyway, living in a boat yard is a lot like camping. And "Ed Doesn't Camp." Look for it in theaters soon.....</div>
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So, we're stranded on the space coast, may as well go watch NASA launch the rockets. So we go to the space walk to watch the 646 (1846) launch and at 620 (1820) this guy in a green shirt with patches sewn on his shirt of every CPR class he's ever attended and, looking disturbingly like the guy above from Men in Black suddenly stands up and yells (YELLS) SCRUBBBBBBBBED!!!!!!! He looked official, but I checked with Mr Google anyway. Took Mr Google ten minutes to tell me the launch had been rescheduled for tomorrow night. I guess Mr Greenshirt knew something. Or he was an alien who has fooled us all. </div>
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ed and karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01770141985191042014noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9042393421608000780.post-70319941066276403752016-02-23T18:01:00.001-08:002016-07-24T15:01:57.270-07:00Good news.....Relatively good news from the bottom guy - he can get us touched up later in the week. Bad news - he doesn't have matching paint! So we're off to find some! Shouldn't be too hard - but - after calling around, it's only 60 miles to the nearest West Marine that has our color! Road trip!!ed and karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01770141985191042014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9042393421608000780.post-44046814388343982652016-02-22T17:50:00.000-08:002016-07-24T14:51:07.206-07:00sooooooo.........So we hauled out and it all turned out to be okay....some bottom paint missing but no significant damage....very grateful the running gear is okay - gonna get the paint touched up so we're waiting to hear from a bottom guy. Anyway, we're back in the yard! Whoopee!! It has been almost a month since we've been in one so we're pretty used to it.<br />
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Stay tuned for updates!!ed and karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01770141985191042014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9042393421608000780.post-49408828617964561102016-02-21T11:13:00.000-08:002016-07-24T14:58:05.725-07:00okay, so here's what happened.....Friday, sb on the icw....just south of new smyrna beach....ed decided he could break a cardinal rule.....heavy boat traffic and a dumb ass fisherman who thought he could fish in the channel made for a major conundrum......move just outside the channel or hold ground and make others move.....it's just a second,.... no problem..... sadly, it was two seconds....which was one second too long....out of the channel the depth sounder went to 3.5 feet......nothing wrong with that, unless you need 4.5 feet of water to stay afloat.....so....we ran aground.....back off....nope.....power thru.....nope.....now we're really stuck........bad words don't help......call for tow....unfortunately, we were five miles into a ten mile no wake zone....so we waited for the tow....as he idled thru the no wake zone....tow boat us....just buy the insurance.....unlimited....glad we did.....didn't take much to pull us 0ff.....and we were on our way.... just two and a half hours later.....which, considering where we were I thought was pretty good. <br />
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scared of my own shadow now....i was very careful.....the icw is not forgiving if you leave the channel...we entered the mosquito lagoon....no problem...wide open water...looks to be the size of lake Michigan...with a very narrow channel through it....supposedly a minimum of eight feet of water.... in the channel.....we only draw four and one half....no problem....unless the wind kicks up...two foot waves....if you have eight feet of water and two foot waves;;;;;; you have ten feet of water!!! on the waves....you only have 6 feet of water with no waves.....if you draw four and one half feet you are majorly puckering when the depth gauge says 2.....of course, this assumes the channel has been dredged this century and really does have an eight foot channel.....did we hit bottom? not sure....don't know enuf about boating....if we did we powered through it.....but having been stuck already today it was a very nerve wracking afternoon.....</div>
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we got in behind a big sailboat which i was sure drew more than 4.5....he said he drew six.....i told him not to get nervous....we were not pirates....but we were going to follow him.....closely....which we did until titusville.....very nice guy... he called us on the radio every time he saw bottom or saw shoaling.......but if he can do it so can we.....still......not a good feeling......</div>
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so he (Indigo - if anyone sees him buy him some booze and send us the bill!) continued south and we pulled into a marina for the night... we were going to take a ball but took a slip instead.....(ed) got off and kissed the deck.....goose poop doesn't taste that bad....but I was happy to have not sunk my home.......yet.....</div>
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since there is a boatyard here we have decided to be cautious and haul out to check for any damage..and I cannot wait to see what my brand new bottom paint looks like!! of course, the yard isn't open on weekends, so hopefully we can get hauled on Monday.....and, double hopefully we'll find no significant damage.....</div>
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maybe it's time for an rv......or a pup tent in snake infested gator country.....</div>
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ed and karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01770141985191042014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9042393421608000780.post-27016223214955766602016-02-19T17:31:00.000-08:002016-02-19T17:31:01.562-08:00Safe in Cape Canaveral......1. but just barely.....<br />
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2. decided to spend the day at the beach......<br />
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3. But . that was because the boat was on the beach and we had to wait for a tow.....<br />
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4. always buy tow insurance.......<br />
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5. unlimited......<br />
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6. #neverboatinflorida......<br />
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7. five feet of water is generous.....<br />
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8. anyone who says angels don't watch over us is full of crap......<br />
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9.. God answers prayers....<br />
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10. if you can't kiss the ground, kissing a wooden boat dock is okay too....<br />
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11. Boat is for sale. First person who will take five dollars to take it wins....<br />
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12. maybe not....get back to us tomorrow....<br />
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13. Indigo was angel number two....<br />
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14. owe indigo crew beers....<br />
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15. gone fishing.....<br />
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16. more later............ed and karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01770141985191042014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9042393421608000780.post-28945669680403189762016-02-18T17:15:00.001-08:002016-02-18T17:15:41.196-08:00Day two....to Daytona....or so we thought.....The following story may or may not have occurred.... unless it did.....the events depicted may be fictional....or they may not.....the names may or may not have been changed to protect the innocent....or maybe not.....<br />
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A rather uneventful day... woke to a beautiful sunrise in St Augustine....I usually hate these.....<br />
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but, I was awake, so why not enjoy it. But, it was cold, so had to turn on the diesel powered solar generator to get the boat warm..... definitely time to head south....<br />
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The trick in boating the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) is to stay in the water......<br />
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I can't tell you how disappointed I was to find ourselves aground! But, as I looked around, I noticed we were still in the water. Perplexing. Obviously something wrong with our chartplotter. Being the cautious boater that I am, I believe in redundancy. So I checked the back up chartplotter.....<br />
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and found we were in the water, but had just passed over the ground.....fortunately, Karen was watching dolphins and didn't noticed we had just boated over a quarter mile on dry land..... I guess that is why all the books say to follow the channel markers and not the charts. Odd, but, in this case anyway, beneficial..... especially since, later in the day, we decided to follow a sailboat into Daytona... there are two low bridges in Daytona....though we had only been through here once before, the charts say we cannot clear them. Last time we cleared one but not the other....depends on the tides....today we were going in at high tide so I knew we would have to have the bridges opened...a sailboat was ahead of us...let's just follow him and let him open the bridges. As luck would have it, the sailboat ahead decided to exit the channel.... the problem with that is that you may run aground...which he did.....wow, he stopped fast, said Karen. Yes, he did, said I... no one was hurt and that's what towing insurance is for, always buy the towing insurance (WESTMARINE.COM) so we had to open our own bridges.<br />
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just past the bridge was our stop for the night, Daytona Marina. We called the harbormaster. "when you come in, just go past the 164 footer and turn right to dock six." 164 footer? I was hoping I wasn't going to scratch his anchor! (Caddyshack.) Funny thing was, the reason we wanted to stay at Daytona Marina (again) was because there was a Charthouse Restaurant in the marina. When we called, they said they had no space for us. Race week. Daytona 500. Daytona 500? What's that? Oh, you don't know. Well, come on in. We'll find a place for you they said. Didn't say anything about 164 footers though.......<br />
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Anyway, huge boats, oddly enough named "Wheels", with tender "Training Wheels", "Pole Position," with tender "Outside Pole," and the M&M's boat, I guess.... who knew race car drivers/teams would have big boats? Weird.<br />
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Anyway, we did have dinner at the Charthouse. Usually we like early bird specials (for old people) and happy hour prices (for poor people) but, oddly enough, the Charthouse doesn't have happy hour or early birds when rich race car drivers are in town. <br />
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so we ordered enough food for 6 meals so we could at least have leftovers.....<br />
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On a side note, I used to have a job. Worked with a great bunch of people. Well, except that one guy... anyway, even though they were all heros, some of them were kinda strange. They liked Nascar, for some reason. Nascar? Really? Drive really fast and make Left turns? Anyway, I sometimes made fun of them and their sport. As I get older, I realize that was mean of me. I may have hurt their self esteem. That was wrong, and I apologize. I will never do it again. And, whist we were eating at the Charthouse in Daytona on Daytona 500 weekend we did not see Danica Patrick and a bunch of other apparently race car drivers. Although Mr. The King was there. Or maybe not. I would tell you who else was there, but I'm not really sure. If they took swim suit pictures like Danica Patrick I might know who they were. Too bad you weren't there. If this really happened. But it probably didn't. As far as you know. <br />
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Anyway, Daytona 500 this weekend. You can probably see the drivers on tv.....<br />
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Tomorrow, back to boating......ed and karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01770141985191042014noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9042393421608000780.post-9627335171643497272016-02-17T18:25:00.000-08:002016-02-17T18:30:51.111-08:00Day one.....to St. Augustine.....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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When your water tanks are full, it's time to leave. You people with real homes have no idea......<br />
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And don't even get me started on poop tanks.....<br />
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Said goodbye to good friends over the last few days. Boaters are good people.......<br />
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Off we go!! Leaving the Ortega Landing Marina. Great place. Highly recommended!! Plus, whenever you ask for the bridge to be opened, they're okay with that. Talk about power!! <br />
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"Driving" "The Ditch." The trick is not to hit bottom. That's really the key to boating in Florida....<br />
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Entering St. Augustine. </div>
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Behind the pirate ship, of course.....</div>
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On the ball (like anyone has said that about me before!) St Augustine Municipal Harbor. Nice view.</div>
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Sunset. Snacks a la Kristen and Hans (smoked trout - awesome!!) Sun dried tomato pesto a la publix. Sunset a la God. Good day..</div>
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Lyons Bridge, St Augustine. Good day had by all! </div>
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Tomorrow off to Daytona Beach. Home of the Mega Yachts and Race Week (Daytona 500.) I hope my boat doesn't scratch their anchors!!</div>
ed and karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01770141985191042014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9042393421608000780.post-55499465285538482042016-02-16T18:09:00.000-08:002016-02-16T18:09:56.302-08:00One night in Bangkok......One night in Bangkok.....doesn't even really belong here. But, if you hum the tune whilst using the phrase "six months in Jacksonville" it will be nice background music while you read.<br />
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If you're new to the story, here's a little background. After sailing around Hawaii for four years, Ed and Karen sold their sail boat and went to the dark side. The dreaded stinkpot. A Grand Banks 36 was located in Punta Gorda, Florida, and in July of 2015 Ed and Karen had a new home. After only one week, the boat was moved to Jacksonville, Florida. Over 500 miles and 12 days, the boat performed flawlessly, arriving in Jacksonville in late July. <br />
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We planned on staying in Jacksonville for two months, before boating off to see the world! Okay, the state. Well, maybe just downtown Jacksonville. As boats will be boats, two months turned to six. A few minor repairs became a few hundred minor repairs and several major ones. In the process of doing routine maintenance to familiarize myself with the boat, I discovered that the previous maintenance I was told had been done (and receipts proved it) had not been done. Bummer. Let the buyer beware, as they say. So, here we are six months later. The generator serviced and repaired, twin engines preventatively maintained and old impeller parts remove from the cooling system, new batteries, inverter, hot water heater, radio, chart plotter, canvas, thru hulls, bottom paint.......on infinitum.....<br />
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Though we had planned on leaving Jacksonville in October, nay November, nay January.....etc..... February seems to be the magic month. Tomorrow, February 17, 2016, Cosmic Mariner begins it's voyage. South, I think. Next stop: Key West. Well, not literally the next stop. But the current destination anyway. <br />
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Unless we hit an iceberg. But I think that's self explanatory. Read along as you see fit.ed and karenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01770141985191042014noreply@blogger.com5